A Holiday in the South of France

The South of France is an attractive place to travel to, particularly for Europeans and those of us who live in the UK, and nestled amongst the Vineyards lies the village of Montlaur next to the Vineyards of the Corbières, and an ideal place for holiday in bed and breakfast accommodation.

Last week I stayed in the old pharmacy L'Ancienne Ecurie in Montlaur where my sister and her husband Peter and Felicity Collier have settled and run bed and breakfast accommodation and self-catering. It was a holiday that was unforgettable and so calm.

L'Ancienne Pharmacie, offers chambres d'hotes, and is a few doors down the road towards the centre of the village. They bought it in Protected content a holiday home for themselves and their children and grandchildren as they approached retirement. They renovated it, and have let it as a gite for a few years but spent increasing periods of time there and fell in love with the village, the lifestyle and the slower pace of life- and of course the wine and the sunshine. Montlaur, despite its size (around Protected content residents) is a thriving rural village and a little hub for other villages in the Val Dagne with its small shops, school and rich community life.. Their family are all regular visitors and participate in the village festivals, in Montlaur and the surrounding areas. They love swimming in the river at Lagrasse and Ribaute and the lake in Carcassonne, with water sports and an adventure climbing circuit. They are now French residents and feel well integrated into village life.They also have a large jardin potager (allotment) on the edge of a vineyard, 5 mins walk from our house, where they grow their own fruit and vegetables . Their border collie, Bryn, has his own mini agility course in the orchard.

They have been offering over several years bed and breakfast accommodation sucessfully, and recently purchased another house in the village, which they have just finished refurbishing, and as such it has bookings available throughout the summer, and I have no doubt it will be popular.

Whilst I was there on holiday I visited Lagrasse for their popular market, and tasted wines in the region, and in particular enjoyed a meal in the Monze 11 restuarant.

I swam in Narbonne plage and visited Gruissan with it's lovely tower and houses on stilts beside the Mediterranean. I also visited Carcassone.